Turchi and his wife Willie donated money to Siena in their later years as a way to honor their late son Gene, known as Gigi, who died in 1993 at age 46.

Fixtures at the Siena men's basketball games, the Turchis set up a trust fund at Siena that is worth more than $250,000. The money is to be used to provide scholarships for members of the men's and women's golf teams.

"He was a great friend to Siena College. He was so generous," Siena athletic director John D'Argenio said. "Gino was a guy who worked hard throughout his life, enjoyed life and loved being around people."

Turchi, who received an honorary doctorate from Siena in 2005, fell in love with the school.

He did not graduate high school. Turchi was the definition of a self-made man.

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In 1963, he bought the land for the golf course he would eventually build himself.

Bill Paulsen, who purchased Eagle Crest Golf Club from Turchi in 1991, said, "He has been a good friend of ours ever since we bought the course. I enjoyed his company and I believe he enjoyed our company. We had a great relationship.

"Gino was well known. He was quite a golfer and knew quite a lot of people," Paulsen said. "I really believe he will have more people at his wake than we've ever had in our area."